Our View: Feel-good laws no solution for future school shootings

After the shock and horror of last month's school shooting in Connecticut by disturbed 20-year-old Adam Lanza, Americans grieving over another massacre face a natural impulse to "do something."

President Barack Obama recently announced a committee led by Vice President Joe Biden to present specific steps. Even in Michigan, the shooting had political implications. It was cited as a factor when Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed legislation that would have allowed citizens who pass concealed-carry licensing to receive extra training to enter places — including schools — currently listed as "gun-free zones."

Discussing gun safety is essential, but it needs to move beyond partisan talking points. Steps that sound good may have little, if anything, to do with the Sandy Hook, Conn., massacre or similar cases.

For example, we don't agree with the National Rifle Association's call for an armed guard at all schools. While about one-third of schools do have armed security, imposing that on every school makes little sense from a safety or fiscal standpoint.

Nor do we agree with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other gun-control advocates who insist fewer guns and more "gun-free zones" will necessarily improve things.

Not to imply cause and effect, but the U.S. today has more firearms, yet fewer firearms deaths and injuries. U.S. government data shows gun homicide rates peaked at seven per 100,000 people in 1993 and fell in 2010 to 3.6 — its lowest rate since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began tracking it in 1981. This drop comes despite U.S. gun manufacturing jumping 64 percent from 2007 to 2011. Readers can see the numbers at factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts.

Here are some other commonly proposed but problematic solutions:

— Expanding background checks on gun purchases to include sales by private individuals: This law has been in place in Connecticut for years, yet it didn't stop Lanza. His mother passed a background check when she legally purchased her firearms.

— Banning civilian ownership of "military grade" rifles: There are several problems with this idea. First, the AR-15 model rifle is not "military grade." Military rifles can usually fire automatic bursts as long as the trigger is depressed, and such automatic rifles have been restricted since 1934 under the National Firearms Act. Civilian versions of the AR-15 like Lanza's can only fire one bullet per trigger pull; just like other semi-automatic firearms. Secondly, such rifles are used in very few of America's shootings.

— Banning ammunition clips that accommodate 30 rounds or more: This step might slow down an attacker, but also could criminalize legitimate gun owners who use such clips to reduce reloading at practice ranges. Worse, banning such clips would create a false sense of security. The 2007 attack at Virginia Tech — the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history — was carried out using only two pistols with 10- and 15-round clips.

Page 2 of 2 - Violence in America does raise many questions. Here are just a few:

— Since most U.S. shootings are carried out with handguns — including the Virginia Tech massacre that killed 32 people — wouldn't banning rifles simply cause attackers to use more-easily hidden pistols?

— Is it wise for American gun owners to have the ability to purchase 100-round magazines without licenses? This was the type used by the shooter in Aurora, Colo., who shot moviegoers at a Batman film.

— The same shooter also had purchased more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the Internet. Is this something that should be regulated?

— How culpable is violence in Hollywood films, TV and video games — which boast an entire category of games known as "first-person shooter"?

— President Obama mentioned mental health treatment as a possible step, and we agree. Now that we know Lanza had emotional problems and reportedly took antipsychotic medication, perhaps any new steps should not be aimed at all firearms owners but should be more selectively focused.

Neither side of the gun debate has all the answers to mass shootings. They occur in nations such as Germany and Norway where gun possession is severely curtailed. They occur in places such as Columbine, Colo., a school that had an armed guard.

A genuine interest in fewer shootings requires carefully looking at Sandy Hook and studying all data and ideas, not just those that make people — on either side — feel better.